Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Ning Ling relaxed. She looked down, a hint of gratitude and guilt in her eyes. Today’s disaster had all been because of her. Qin Yu had been innocently drawn in, yet not only did he not run away but he stayed with her to fight Blacksky Demon. If it weren’t for him, she would have perished there.

Moreover, the ‘secrets’ that Qin Yu revealed had astonished her more than expected, to the point where she almost wanted to rip apart his clothes and investigate what secrets he had on him. As she recalled the overwhelming amount of accusations and ridicule that had been showered upon him at the Eastern Mountain Sect, she faintly smiled. To trick so many people, Qin Yu must have been more than proud of his performance.

In the future, what sort of expression would these people have once they discovered the truth? Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to see their faces herself.

Qin Yu suddenly opened his eyes. Their two gazes inadvertently met before he quickly turned his eyes away.

Qin Yu coughed, “Senior-apprentice Sister Ning, what’s the current situation?”

Ning Ling said, “Blacksky Demon is even further away from us than before, but his divine sense is still locked onto us. Perhaps it might not be too long before he gives up his chase.” Her eyes brightened. “Junior-apprentice Brother Qin Yu, thank you!”

Qin Yu waved his hand, his eyebrows wrinkling in thought. After several breaths of time, he murmured, “Senior-apprentice Sister Ning, something isn’t right. Golden Core cultivators have countless methods and inconceivable cards in their hands. If you were able to recognize Blacksky Demon, that must mean he isn’t some common figure. How could such a demonic path powerhouse give up so easily?”

Ning Ling thought for a moment, “Blacksky Demon is an infamous cultivator within the demonic path. Now that you say that, I do feel things have gone too smoothly.” She looked up and swept her eyes across the surrounding forests. With their auras radiating outwards, all the beasts and birds had fled away, but this silence actually formed an invisible oppression.

At this time, a deep and low howl rolled in all directions and multiple black shadows flew into the air, locking onto Ning Ling and Qin Yu. These shadows had icy gazes, filled with cruelty and hostility. The wind whistled around them; they were massive eagles that had a wingspan over 10 meters wide, their forms casting deep shadows on the earth. On the ground, black shadows raced through the forests.

These birds and beasts were not ordinary animals but had developed a spirituality of their own. They had absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and the spiritual energy of the world, making them into slightly intelligent monster beasts. But at this time, their eyes were completely black as if they had been dipped in ink and lacked all other color.

Ning Ling shouted out, “Blacksky Beast Dominion Art!” 𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

A black leopard looked up, wild emotions rippling in its eyes. It opened its mouth and spoke, “Ning Family junior, you’re quite experienced. To think you actually know my supernatural beast dominion art that has been passed down from ancient times. Then, you should be well aware that these monster beasts are now all my avatars and they will crazily besiege you from all sides without fear of death. Do you still think you can escape?”

After a pause, the black leopard’s eyes fell onto Qin Yu. It laughed, “Of course, if you are willing to die voluntarily than I promise I will let that young boy live. This is a promise that I, Blacksky Demon, make.”

Ning Ling’s heart fell. Her firm will seemed to suffer a powerful strike at this moment. But as she looked down at Qin Yu, she could see that he still remained as calm as before.

Qin Yu coldly sneered, “It’s common knowledge that demonic cultivators lie and betray their promises all the time. If I really believe you then I might as well commit suicide myself right now, rather than fall into your hands and be tortured.” He stood up, “Senior-apprentice Sister Ning, he is purposefully delaying for more time so that he can gather more and more monster beasts here. We must break free from this as soon as possible.”

Qin Yu grabbed onto her. “Senior-apprentice Sister Ning, I apologize if I offend you.” His feet heavily smashed downwards and with a loud rumbling of magic power in his body, the two of them shot forwards like a blue arrow.

Ning Ling’s face blushed red as she suppressed her tumbling heart. She lifted her hand and cast out several golden beams of light, turning the surrounding forest into a sea of golden flames.

The golden light contained a dignity that was hard to describe. Even the controlled monster beasts still couldn’t completely resist this. Awe and fear shined in their eyes, and they began to visibly struggle.

From behind, Blacksky Demon spat out a mouthful of blood. He reared back his head and roared into the skies, “Boy, I will burn your bones to ashes and refine your soul!” Qin Yu’s quick and simple actions had broken apart his plan and the resistance of the monster beasts and caused him to suffer a backlash. How could he not hate Qin Yu to his marrow?

“Junior-apprentice Brother Qin Yu, the flying monster beasts have risen higher into the air so I cannot attack then, but those eagles are still able to keep track of us. We won’t be able to escape!” Ning Ling anxiously said. The beasts were awed by the aura of the golden light so they didn’t dare approach, but in the end once their strength was exhausted they would still be caught in a dead end.

Qin Yu didn’t speak. Every step he took left a deep imprint in the ground as he pushed the two of them forwards at maximum velocity. His eyes scanned the surroundings, seeking a chance to escape. No matter how perilous the situation was, he still maintained his calm.

Panicking was useless.

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water rose up. A steep and roaring mountain stream appeared in front of them, leading into a waterfall that disappeared into an underground river.

Qin Yu’s eyes brightened. He took a deep breath and tightened his thighs, bending his back. Then, he leapt forwards until he crashed towards the mountain stream!

“Ahh!” Ning Ling cried out in alarm, subconsciously holding tightly onto him. The two of them clung together. Qin Yu stiffened for a moment as he felt the softness on his body, but he soon composed himself. His eyes fell to the side of the mountain stream as he found a foothold.

Shua –

Shua –

The two of them rapidly sank. Mist gradually appeared and thickened, causing their line of sight to turn blurry. Even so, Qin Yu still remained calm, no matter how fast he fell. His super eyesight displayed its power, allowing him to quickly find a place where he could land.

Pata –

The icy cold mountain waters splashed upwards but smoothed over in the next moment as the two were swallowed up.

Roar –

Roar –

The beasts stood around the mountain stream, walking about and restlessly growling. Up above, the eagles also emitted angry screeches as they lost their target. They could only stare blankly on as the young man and woman fell to their certain death, hugging each other as the water current rushed them into the distance.

Blacksky Demon stood atop a rock, his eyes glued to the river beneath no matter how the cold mountain winds blew against him. He roared out, “You think you can run away like this? I will find you! I will definitely find you!”

With loud screeches, the eagles flew higher into the skies. Each one flew to a different location, blocking out a massive area. As soon as Qin Yu and Ning Ling appeared, they would not be able to escape the sharp eyes of the eagles! The beasts howled and ran low along the cliff as they slowly leapt into the waters.

This chase was far from over!

Qin Yu discovered that Ning Ling was afraid of water. From the moment they plunged into the river, she stubbornly latched onto him so hard that it made it difficult for him to move. He could only try to move her into his arms to avoid being hit by rocks as they flowed and twisted down the river.

The river didn’t flow outside the mountains, but straight into the depths. This was different from what Qin Yu expected. He originally hoped to take advantage of this river to escape the mountain forests, and if they were lucky they could encounter a powerful cultivation sect that could scare off Blacksky Demon. Now, their fates were in the hands of the heavens.

But soon Qin Yu felt that something was wrong. In his arms, Ning Ling became increasingly hot, to the point that he could feel a bit of burning heat even in the icy cold river waters.

Not daring to stay in the water any longer, Qin Yu popped his head up. After dodging several large stones, he found an empty area. He grabbed Ning Ling and pushed against a rock, breaking free from the waters before falling onto the ground.

He swept his eyes around. This should be a hole that was created by the river constantly eroding this area over the years, but it had been emptied because the river had changed course. After making sure there were no dangers, Qin Yu set Ning Ling on the ground. Her eyes were shut tight and there wasn’t the least bit of red in her cheeks. She had fallen unconscious.

“Senior-apprentice Sister Ning!” Qin Yu shouted several times. His heart sank as there was no response. He took out several pills and carefully placed them in her mouth.

But Ning Ling sat up and vomited, spitting out the pills. After several deep and rapid breaths, her eyes began to slowly open. “Because I overused my bloodline strength, I suffered a backlash. I can only self-cultivate to restore it and I can’t rely on any external interference.” With these words, her entire body was soaked in sweat. It was clear she was incredibly weak.

Just as Qin Yu was about to speak, his complexion changed. He bent down and picked up Ning Ling before using his torn robes to tie her tight. He shouted, “Senior-apprentice Sister Ning, hold on tight!”

From deep in the underground river, the sound of monster beasts crying out could be heard.

Ning Ling bit her lips, “Qin Yu, leave me. If you bring me with you then you won’t be able to escape!”

Qin Yu straightened himself. After several breaths of time he said, “I thought about it.” With those words, he stepped forwards with her and leapt into the dark river.

The river waters instantly submerged the two. Ning Ling could feel his broad and warm back as well as his powerful heartbeat. She subconsciously held onto him.

He had thought about it but still chose to stay behind. How could she not know how she placed in his heart? At this time, Ning Ling felt something tremble in the softest depths of her heart, and her mind raced.

Blacksky Demon had come to a stop. There was no longer a need to race forwards. He used the power of the Blacksky Beast Dominion Art to the limit, forcing more and more monster beasts to rush into the underground river and search for Ning Ling and Qin Yu. If it weren’t for the endless amount of tunnels and holes created underground by the river over time, they would have already been surrounded by monster beasts.

But even though they were able to rely on the complex terrain to flee for three days, Qin Yu still felt himself reaching the ends of his dwindling strength. There was a large diagonal wound on his chest that revealed flesh and blood, and the outer edges were a horrifying white from being soaked in water too long.

This was because a monster fish had taken them by surprise and left a deep mark on Qin Yu. If it weren’t for his quick response, he feared his entire chest would have been torn apart by the monster fish’s sharp teeth. Although the monster fish had been destroyed in the end, the blood leaking out from Qin Yu’s wound became the best target.

If he had time, he could definitely use the medicinal efficacy of pills to restore his wounds. But, he didn’t even have time to catch his breath. He could only continue to escape.

Ning Ling was tied onto Qin Yu’s back. As she listened to his heaving gasps, she began to cry. “Qin Yu, just escape, just escape without me!”

Qin Yu sighed. “If I ran away alone three days ago then I might have had a chance to live, but it is already too late. Since this is the case, I can only clench my teeth and persist. If I give up halfway, all my desperate efforts will be for nothing.”

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

Qin Yu swallowed down several pills, quickly chewing them. “I’m afraid. There are countless heroes in this world, but if any one of them says they don’t fear death, they are simply a liar. And I am only a minor and unimportant character, so of course I am afraid of dying. But even if I die, I must make my death valuable. At least, for better or worse I had a great demonic Golden Core cultivator chase after my behind for three days and nights. In the future, people will surely admire my accomplishments.”

This joke wasn’t funny at all, so Ning Ling didn’t laugh. She quietly said, “Do you regret it?”

Qin Yu shook his head. As he prepared to race forwards again, he said, “Senior-apprentice Sister Ning, if there is nothing important to say then don’t speak. Save up as much of your strength to restore yourself. If we have a chance of living, it will be with you.”

Though these words were rude, Ning Ling wasn’t angered. “Qin Yu, I don’t want to run away.” She looked at his stiff figure and said, “So you don’t need to suppress your injuries any longer. Since we can’t escape, let’s just die here together.”

Qin Yu sat down on the ground and began to vomit great mouthfuls of blood. The dark blood was mixed with innumerable accumulated blood clots. Just by watching this, one thought he would vomit all the blood in his body.

Luckily, he finally stopped. Although his complexion was uglier, his gasps were much more comfortable. He sighed, “So vomiting blood can also be such a great thing!”

The two were less than a foot away, and they could vaguely feel the warmth emitting from the other’s body. This became the only comfort in the dark below.

Even if they were to die here, at least they would have someone accompanying them to the yellow springs.

Ning Ling touched Qin Yu. “Can you still move? I don’t want to die here. Do you remember that crack that leads upwards? How about we go see the sun.”

Qin Yu nodded and rose up with some difficulty. He tied her close again and said, “Let’s go! We’ll die in the sun!”